Page 7 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 1-27-2016

Ag./BusinessClear Lake Mirror-Reporter
Farmland values in
Iowa fall for second
consecutive year
Average Iowa farmland value
is now estimated to be $7,633 per
acre — having dropped in value for
the second consecutive year. Per acre
value declined $310, or 3.9 percent,
since last year’s survey. Farmland val-
ues have now fallen almost 13 percent
from the historically high 2013 val-
ues.
Land values were determined by
the 2015 Iowa Land Value Survey,
which was conducted in November by
the Center for Agricultural and Rural
Development at Iowa State University
and Iowa State University Extension
and Outreach. Results from the sur-
vey are similar to results by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, the Fed-
eral Reserve Bank of Chicago and the
Realtors Land Institute.
The $7,633 per acre, and 3.9 per-
cent drop in value, represents the state there down to $7,962 per acre. Mitch-
as a whole, although values are also
determined by crop reporting districts
(district hereafter) and each of Iowa’s
99 counties individually according
to low-, medium- and high-quality
farmland ratings.
Farmland values hit a historic
peak of $8,716 per acre in 2013, but
declined 8.9 percent to $7,943 the
following year. The drop in value this
year is smaller than that of last year,
but now marks the third time values
have fallen since 2009.
The 3.9 percent decline may
seem less than what many people
speculated, but according to Wendong
Zhang, assistant professor of econom-
ics at Iowa State University who led
the survey this year, this is not out of Statewide averages for high-, me-
line due to a mix of factors, including
a lot of cash in hand for many farm-
ers, market expectation of this decline
early on, robust livestock returns and
strong recreational demand. Despite
decreasing again, farmland values are
still more than twice the reported val-
ues from 10 years ago, and almost 14
percent higher than 2011 values.
For the third year in a row, Scott
Jan. 27, 2016 • Page 7
DeBell earns
promotion
at CLB&T
and Decatur counties creases with a 2.9 percent gain. predicted drop depends on the loca- Clear Lake Bank & Trust is BRIGITTE DEBELL
reported the highest and Of respondents that listed posi- tion—areas relying heavily on corn pleased to announce the promotion of ness management. She and her daugh-
lowest farmland values, tive and/or negative factors influenc- and soybeans could see a bigger de- Brigitte DeBell to mortgage loan pro- ter, Aubrey, reside in Mason City.
respectively. Decatur ing farmland values, low interest rates crease. cessing supervisor. Founded in 1934, Clear Lake
County reported a value and high yields were the most com- The survey was initiated in 1941 Originally from Mason City, De- Bank and Trust Company is a locally
per acre of $3,514, a monly cited positive factors and lower and is sponsored annually by Iowa Bell joined Clear Lake Bank & Trust owned, full-service bank with four of-
drop of $73, or about 2 commodity prices were the most fre- State University. Only the state aver- in 2013 as a mortgage loan processor fices in Clear Lake, Garner, and Ma-
percent, from last year’s quently cited negative factor. High age and the district averages are based with several years of leadership expe- son City.
report. Scott County re- input prices, an uncertain agricultural directly on the Iowa State survey data. rience in mortgage processing. In her
ported the highest value future and cash/credit availability The county estimates are derived us- new role, she will continue to work
at $10,918 per acre, were also cited as negative factors. ing a procedure that combines the from the Mason City west office, su-
however, values there With stagnant commodity pric- survey results with data from the U.S. pervising the mortgage loan proces-
declined about $700 per es, declining farm income forecast, a Census of Agriculture. sors as well as working with customers
acre, higher than this slowing Chinese economy, and a po- The Iowa Land Value Survey and business partners.
year’s statewide average, tential increase in interest rates, the is based on reports by agricultural DeBell is a graduate of Buena
and just over 6 percent Iowa farmland market appears to have professionals knowledgeable of land Vista University with a bachelor’s de-
from last year. peaked for the foreseeable future, and market conditions such as apprais- gree in accounting, finance and busi-
The largest district-wide decrease seems to continue drifting sideways to ers, farm managers, agricultural lend-
in farmland value was North Central slightly lower. However, as Zhang put ers and actual sales. It is intended to Winnebago
Iowa, which reported a drop of 6.7 it, “It will most likely be an orderly provide information on general land names Decker
percent, bringing farmland values adjustment as opposed to a sudden value trends, geographical land price to new position
bubble burst. Most farmers will be relationships and factors influencing
ell and Floyd counties, in the North- able to weather the storm as the mar- the Iowa land market. The 2015 sur- Winnebago Industries, Inc. JACK DECKER
east portion of the state, reported the ket prices find a new equilibrium, but vey is based on 514 usable responses (NYSE:WGO), a leading United Dakota State University in Fargo,
largest percentage drops in value at farmers and land owners who bet on providing 708 county land values esti- States (U.S.) recreation vehicle manu- N.D., with a degree in mechanical
8.6 percent; and Black Hawk County, the high commodity prices lasting and mates. The survey was made available facturer, announced the promotion of engineering. He is also monitoring
also in the Northeast district reported aggressively expanded or borrowed online for the first time this year, and Jack Decker to the position of product chairman of the Great Lakes Ship-
the largest dollar decrease with a loss heavily will face significant problems 55 percent of participants chose this planner. wreck Preservation Society and a
of $784 per acre. The district with in the months ahead.” method as opposed to the traditional In his new position, Decker will member of the Knights of Columbus,
the highest overall farmland value is In the 2015 survey, over 75 per- paper survey. identify, evaluate and recommend St. Patrick’s Church, Clear Lake.
Northwest Iowa at $9,685 per acre, cent of respondents thought land val- A new web-portal has been de- current and future product programs
and the lowest is South Central at ues in their territory would continue veloped at http://www.card.iastate. for the product planning and product
$4,397 per acre. to decline next year. The majority edu/farmland/ to pool various sources development departments. He will fo-
The value of all qualities of farm- predicted the decline would be either of Iowa farmland values and offer vi- cus on the Company’s Class A diesel
land fell across the state, with high- less than 5 percent or between 5 and sualization tools like charts and inter- product lineup.
quality farmland losing 5 percent 10 percent. The magnitude of the active county maps. A 28-year veteran of the company,
($490 per acre) of its value, medium- Decker was previously a product de-
quality land falling 3.2 percent ($232 signer.
per acre) and low-quality farmland Decker is a graduate of North
falling 0.9 percent ($44 per acre).
Clear Lake schools collecting Box Tops
dium- and low- quality farmland are Check your groceries! Even those who don’t have a
now $9,364, $7,127 and $4,834 per Box Tops, Labels for Education or Ty- child in school can help. When you
acre, respectively. son Project A+ labels are being collect- see these labels, simply cut along the
The only district to show an in- ed, processed and sent in for cash or dotted lines. Then drop them off at
crease in values as a whole was North- points. Clear Creek students benefit any one of the red collection boxes
west Iowa, which reported values 0.7 greatly as proceeds are used towards placed locally at the Clear Lake
percent higher than last year. Clayton items such as technology equipment, Mirror-Reporter, Post Office and the
and Allamakee Counties, located in art supplies, gym equipment and field children’s section of the Clear Lake
the Northeastern portion of the state, trip costs to name a few. Public Library.
reported the largest percentage in-